Head men’s basketball coach Brett Reed announced Friday the hiring of the former Mountain Hawk standout guard as the director of basketball operations. He is13th in school history with 1,350 career points.

“I’m really pleased to have Joe Knight join our coaching staff,” Reed said. “I have known him for 13 years having recruited him out of high school. In every situation, I’ve been impressed with Joe’s character. I’ve been impressed with the person that he is and ultimately the coach I believe that he will become.”

Knight served as an AAU Basketball Coach for the South Florida Chiefs from 2010-12, coaching and mentoring rising juniors and seniors with former Lehigh teammate Bryan White. He worked with players who attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, largely considered one of the top academic and athletic schools in the country. Knight was also part of State of Our Community Basketball Camp, organizing and conducting a first-time basketball camp in his hometown of Columbia, Tennessee.

He received many accolades in his career as a player. As a freshman at High Point University in North Carolina, he was named Big South Rookie of the Year and led all freshmen in points, assists, steals, and minutes played.

After transferring to Lehigh after his sophomore year, Knight made his mark on the Mountain Hawks. In competitive results, Knight finished his career ranked ninth all-time in scoring at Lehigh with 1,350 points (since falling to 13th), and fifth in 3-pointers with 178. He also holds the school and Patriot League Tournament record for threes made in a single game, tallying 10 in a win over Colgate. His 45 points in that game was the highest-scoring game in all of Division I in 2004-05, and still stands second in Lehigh history. As a senior, Knight was named a Second Team All-Patriot League performer.

Knight received prestigious awards such as Lehigh Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the year, Patriot League Sportsmanship Award Winner and Lehigh University Sportsmanship Award Winner, all during his senior season of 2005-06.

After graduating from Lehigh in May 2006 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology and Social Psychology, Knight continued his playing career professionally overseas. The four-year experience saw stops made in three different countries including Austria, Turkey and Finland. In 2009 while playing in Istanbul, Turkey, Knight averaged 21.4 points per game, 6.0 assists and 2.6 steals on his way to being named Eurobasket.com TBL2 Guard of the Year, Import Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

After he hung up the sneakers in 2010, Knight began working full-time with the Boy Scouts of America, managing membership, sales, volunteers, and fundraising. He spent the last two years as a district executive and senior district executive.

hi tom - really enjoy your work, but how is it possible that you didn't mention the 13 forfeits in 2006 related to LU's bungling of mr. knight's academic record? all indications are that he is a good person and we all know he was a great player, but you gotta at least note it when you're talking about his return

Joe Knight Played for me in his first AAU Team out of Columbia, Tennessee. This is Coach Ernesto Ramos and I would like to congratulate him on a job well done with the South Central Allies 14/15UB 615-589-7907

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Morning Call Sports Reporters Stephen Miller and Tom Housenick blog about high school and college sports action on and off the field in and around the Lehigh Valley, only at themorningcall.com.

Meet the bloggers

TOM HOUSENICK watches every move Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum makes on the court, laughs at every joke by Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon and watches all the Divisions II and III coaches and players do it for the love of the game. Basketball makes the cold weather season go by fast. Already can’t wait for late February and early March when each possession could result in a season ending or continuing on.

Wrapping up his ninth year at The Morning Call, STEPHEN MILLER is back for year No. 4 on the LVC football beat. He chronicled Central Catholic's state-championship run in 2010, watched Nazareth win its first LVC title in 2011 and saw the league crown tri-champions for the first time in 2012. He has also covered the Phillies, college football and a variety of prep sports while with The Morning Call. To stay updated on the 2013 LVC football season, check out the Varsity blog and follow him on Twitter @mcall_smiller.